Formal Recruitment Outfit Opinions
 

Edit: Photos are now deleted. Thanks to everyone who replied and helped me out!

I'm doing formal rush in August. I wanted to post some pictures of my days 2, 3, and 4 outfit ideas and see if they are appropriate.

Day 2:


I have two options for this one. I'm still not sure which one I want to go with. I will need to put a cardigan over the lily dress if I go with that one.



Day 3:

I will also need to put a cardigan over this one.



Day 4 (Preference Day):

Soomie, I am not trying to pry, but it will be hard for any of us to offer an opinion on your outfits since we don't know where you are going to school.

Do you have some guidelines from the Panhellenic Association at your school for what you're supposed to wear each day?

I think you're probably overdoing the floral theme, especially for Preference. My guess is that the last dress is too "daytime-y" for preference. Generally, you're told to wear a cocktail dress.

While I'm no expert on Formal Recruitment Fashion nowadays, if a woman came through and only ever wore floral prints, that would have become her defining characteristic throughout all of recruitment, for better or for worse. Prints are fine but I would really try to limit only wearing one type, and avoid all-over prints more than once or so.

On the campuses I am familiar with, you would not have to wear a sweater with your strapless sun dresses (in fact, you would probably suffer heat stroke if you did). Lots of girls wear dresses just like the ones in the first two photos. I agree with Sciencewoman-while your pref. dress is lovely, it is probably a little too casual for prefs. at the schools I am familiar with.

This.

I think all those dresses are cute but agree with the others that wearing a floral print every day is not smart. If your Pan is telling you for pref summer afternoon wedding the floral dress would be lovely for that BUT not knowing where you are headed might make the difference between appropriate and not appropriate. My least favorite dress is the green one. The Lily patchwork is darling.

If you do decided to wear these dresses please make sure they are pressed OR take them to the cleaners so they look sharp.

Good Luck!

And am not trying to be snarky, but please iron them.

Also not trying to be snarky, but be sure the good china stays covered. At some schools, the PNM sits in a chair and the member will kind of sit on the floor in front of her. Just be careful what you're sharing is all I'm saying.

Soomie, I saw that you mentioned a school on another thread. Here's a link that might help.

What To Wear

It looks like they are suggesting a daytime dress for Preference on your campus.

I agree with the others about pressing the dresses. It can be hard to tell when a garment is lying on a bed, but if the dresses look like they've worn out their "fresh" look, then I think you'd be better off investing in a couple crisper, new sundresses for recruitment. Others may disagree, but I think it's more important to look sharp earlier in recruitment. By Pref, the chapters you've been invited back to already have a good impression of you. Dress appropriately for Pref, but if you have a limited budget, I'd spend my "new clothes" money on the garments for earlier rounds, when you're trying to make a great first impression.

Thanks for this! It's very helpful.

Also, sorry for not mentioning the school. It's College of Charleston for anyone else who is wondering. I will get all of the dresses pressed before recruitment. Based on my school then would the Floral print be okay for preference day since it asks for a more day timey look? And just to clarify, I don't need to put a cardigan over the sundresses? I had an active member recommend covering my shoulders to make it more professional so I wasn't sure.

It's going to be hot and humid there so think about that. I personally don't like to see PNMs in strapless because every last one of them (except maybe pageant people) will keep pulling it up. And that is just so very, very, very much a bad thing to do

Not to be mean, but the only dress I like is the one for pref day. I would wear that on one of the sundress days and find something a tad more formal for pref.

The "What To Wear" link says not to overdress for Pref.

They need to go the dry cleaners, really. A good dry cleaner can make anything look new or newish.

Of the 4 dresses you've shown us, I would choose the yellow one and then wear one of the floral strapless dresses (the green one or the Lily, your choice). I would get a different, solid colored dress for pref.

I'm mostly a lurker, but I'm a recent graduate from a similar school. I personally overdid it with the florals/lilly during rush, and recommend that you rethink your options! If pref is supposed to be daytime dress, I probably wouldn't wear similar dresses the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th days.

This may sound a little harsh, but I just want to be honest with you: you're better off either buying new Lilly or not wearing Lilly at all. Your Lilly is cute, but honestly a lot of women will be wearing dresses from more recent seasons, and you don't want to stand out in a bad way (especially in the South, and in Charleston of all places... they will know). I really like your yellow dress and think it would be great for Day 3! I think the Pref dress is a little too conservative, and maybe a little busy. I would say either choose a similar cut or a similar print, but not both. A skirt/top combo may be more appropriate for Day 2, and would be a great way to slip some Lilly in (with a skirt), without being the girl that wears too many florals.

Whew! Hope the craft on Philanthropy Day involves making some pants for the girl in the yellow dress!

I'm surprised that is an example -- not a good idea to wear a dress that short at any point in recruitment. Just my mom opinion.

The more I think about it, the more I'm leaning towards the yellow solid for day two over the Lilly. You kind of sealed the deal for me. I think it is too busy with the other dresses that I have picked. I do have a nice shirt/skirt combo that I could exchange for day two and move the yellow to day three. I can post a pic of that combo just to make sure it would be okay. Before going out and buying anything else new I'm going to wait and have my Pi Chi come over and see what I have that would be doable.

One guideline I've read here that I think is a good rule of thumb is to take their suggestions and go 1 step higher. It's good that they try to tone it all down, but reality says the girls will probably be more dressed than in most of those pictures.

You seem like you're in the ballpark! Good luck.

Oops! Ignore my comment then. I didn't look at the link. :)

The Preference outfits/dresses that are shown are really casual & laid-back. This is unusual and seems to be just for this campus; most campuses dress quite a bit more formally for Preference. If it's this casual, the last floral dress should be fine; and it even seems like you could wear flats or nice sandals with it if you wanted to.

love the yellow dress for Day 2, and the dress right next to it for day 3. Or the dress you've earmarked for prefs for Day 3. I'd find a new prefs dress. Cute dresses all around ;) You can wear the green on bid day!

I think ^that is a good idea -- I like the yellow dress for either day 2 or 3, and I like the idea of working in a cute shirt/skirt on either day 2 or 3. Judging from the examples, I even think you could wear the pref dress you selected for pref (your campus seems a lot more casual for pref than many of us are accustomed to seeing) -- especially if it fits you beautifully -- you would look stunning. But perhaps still a good idea to run it by your Pi Chi.

Which dresses do you feel most confident in? I think this is really important to factor in --

You have a lot of cute choices there. You will look adorable whatever you decide in the end. Good luck to you!

***Once you have gathered the opinions you need on this thread -- delete your pics asap -- best to prevent someone from your campus potentially tripping across the thread later (PNM or active) and recognizing your dresses during recruitment.

Thanks for the photo delete suggestion! I went ahead and did that since I have a lot of advice and opinions to base my decision on now. I definitely felt most comfortable in the dress I had picked for preference day. I felt stunning and glamourous in it, and thought that it suited me really well. I think I look really good in the yellow dress as well. The green dress looks great on me, but I probably feel the least comfortable in it. It's not that I feel uncomfortable in it, it's just that it's one of those dresses where it feels a little short even though it covers you well.

Whoa!!! Check out that top on the right for Sisterhood Day. It's a cute top, but it is cut awfully low around the area that it's meant to cover.

I realize that Charleston is hot & balmy, but please, ladies, use some common sense when deciding on what to wear for rush. These are just some ideas thrown out there to you by the sororities. It never hurts to dress a little modestly. Show some personality in your choices but don't attend a rush party in an outfit that you're not able to move freely in without something falling out.

It sounds like you have put a lot of thought into your outfits. Do go with the dresses/skirts that make you feel the most comfortable-then your personality and confidence can shine through!

If it feels short, don't wear it. It will make you self conscious and it may lead to tugging and fidgeting with your dress. Not a good idea.

This is the problem with just seeing pics online. The dark blue and aqua/chartreuse dresses are probably silk or silky and much dressier looking in person and perfect for pref. That girl in the blue striped thing in the middle, I think she photobombed the picture.

LOL...I've never gotten this trend. Words you'll never hear: "You know what would be perfect to wear for that event/time-of-day/function? A maxi dress!"

I think the dresses look cute - but agree with the dry-cleaning or ironing! Best wishes to you for a successful recruitment!!

No, I didn't mean the maxi dress, that one I actually like. (I like maxi dresses in general) I mean that blue and white short striped thing that looks like a 3 year old should be wearing it. And shown as for pref? Yipes.